Man Held For Murder In Oconto County Jail

In a news release issued after a press conference on Friday, Oct. 7, Oconto County Sheriff Todd Skarban said David Steinmetz, 27, had been arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of a couple at their Little Suamico home on Sunday, Oct. 2. He said two counts of first-degree intentional homicide against David Steinmetz would be forwarded to the Oconto County District Attorney’s Office in the near future.
In the news release, Skarban said the Oconto County Emergency Dispatch Center received a call regarding two unresponsive individuals outside a residence on Melissa Boulevard in the Town of Little Suamico.
When deputies and County Rescue Ambulance Services arrived on the scene they found the couple deceased outside the residence, and it was later determined they had died of multiple gunshot wounds.
The deceased were identified as Paul Brennan, 75, and Lori Steinmetz, 55.
David Steinmetz was identified by officers as a person of interest.  He was located a short time later in the parking lot of Thompson’s Market in the City of Oconto, and was taken into custody without incident at 10:16 a.m. and placed on probation hold in the Oconto County Jail.
Skarban said his office was assisted in the investigation by the Brown County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Justice State Crime Lab.
“Our response was aggressive, appropriate and timely,” Skarban reportedly said at the news conference. “I would like to thank my team for their solid police work and their quick response in taking the suspect into custody.”
Not confirmed by Skarban were separate reports that the two victims  had been married for two months and had obtained a marriage license from the Oconto County Clerk’s office on June 24. The murder suspect reportedly was her son, and lived with them in the mobile home at 1251 Melissa Boulevard.
Lori Steinmetz was identified as Lori Brennan by some members of her family, who have started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for funeral expenses.
“The loving couple was only married two months. The family is heartbroken and in such shock,” according to the summary on the fundraising page. “The family is mourning the huge loss of a mother/father and amazing grandparents.”
Online court records show that David Steinmetz has been in and out of the state prison system for the past 10 years. Most recently he had been convicted of aggravated battery of an elderly person and manufacture and delivery of amphetamine in 2017 and was sent to Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
In 2012 he had been sentenced to prison on a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver THC and misdemeanor convictions for possession of THC and theft, and in 2015 he had a misdemeanor conviction for possession of a controlled substance.
Reports state that Steinmetz was placed on extended supervision and released from Oshkosh Correctional Institution into a supervised living facility on Dec. 2, 2020, and that halfway house released him April 30, 2021, but he had listed the Melissa Boulevard address as his home since July of 2017.